The Pittsburgh Pirates have purchased the contract of catcher Zane Chavez from Laredo of the American Association. The 30-year-old backstop has played pro ball since 2009, spending all but two of those seasons in independent ball. During the 2013-14 seasons he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles. He was originally drafted in the 19th round out of high school in 2005 by the Kansas City Royals, then went undrafted after four years of college.
Chavez spent the 2016 season with Laredo, where he caught former Pirates Ryan Beckman, Zack Dodson and Jeff Inman this season. His scouting report is that he is a strong defensive catcher, who has solid receiving skills and does a good job of blocking everything in the dirt. His game-calling skills were also praised. During his career, he has thrown out 32% of base runners trying to steal.
The bat is what has held him back to this point. He hit .260/.327/.388 in 70 games this season, and .281/.341/.396 in eight total seasons of pro ball. His best numbers came back in 2012 when he put up an .871 OPS in the American Association, and then an .829 OPS in 2013 in High-A ball. He topped out at Double-A with the Orioles.
Right now, the Pirates have seven catchers (including Chavez) who will play between the majors and Double-A, so Chavez will probably be used as a depth option between Altoona and Indianapolis, wherever the Pirates have a need. They are also thin at Bradenton after the trade of Taylor Gushue, so Chavez could see regular playing time at some point this season.
I got the chance to talk to him Wednesday night right after he signed and he’s very appreciative of the chance to get back into affiliated ball. He’s one of those baseball lifers, who they will have to cut the jersey off of as the saying goes. He was ready to go back to indy ball if nothing came through this winter. Chavez is a hard worker, so it’s always good to have a veteran presence like that to push the younger players, plus his strong defense will be helpful for the upper level pitchers.
We saw with the Pirates this year, and also back in 2011 when they used eight catchers, that you need to have solid catching depth. The Pirates also love strong defensive catchers, so while it would take a few things going wrong before he got a chance in Pittsburgh, Chavez knows it’s a good organization to be in right now for an opportunity.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Pirates are pretty thin at quality catching depth
They definitely took a hit with McGuire and Gushue both traded. They love the strong defensive catchers and while I have no clue about the strength of other organizations behind the plate, I highly doubt any other team has more strong defensive catchers than they do. They are loaded in that department.
The problem is that no one after Elias Diaz is a sure thing with the bat. I think Christian Kelley could be a breakout type and I think his progress this year made Gushue expendable. Kelley was a lot better this year at the plate than last year, even if the stats only show a 61 point improvement in his OPS, he looked much better. His approach was better, he made harder contact, he used the whole field.
I found the Gushue trade to be a head scratcher. They have plenty of infield depth at AA and AAA so why thin out your organizational depth at Catcher for another one. I will be surprised to see Bostick in the majors behind Kang, Reese, Harrison, Frazier, Hanson, Moroff, Wood, Newman, and maybe even Ngoepe and Weiss.
If the reported deal for Quintana truly does include Diaz, then this makes a lot more sense. No reason to have all you minor league catching eggs in the Jin De Jhang basket.
Now, there is actually no reported deal for Quintana, I kind of made that bit up, so this guy is going to be around for St and to see if he can hit enough to warrant a AA spot. He is probably pretty cheap, so no big deal. I wish him all the luck in the world and I hope it works out for him.
You idiot, you made me think we had traded for Quintana, started searching the internet for reports. You jackass.
This deal has nothing to do with anything else. It’s just the Pirates adding minor league depth.
That’s like saying the signing of Eury Perez is a sign they’re trading Meadows, or signing Josh Lindblom is a sign they’re trading Glasnow. They’re just normal moves, independent of any other move.
So Tim, I seem to have a slight issue with my account. Is there a private way to contact you for assistance.
tim@piratesprospects.com
That is surprising about Diaz. But I think he is undervalued but I think he will be a good catcher with some pop. The arm stands out.
My first thought too about Diaz possibly being in that trade effort.
Because they signed a lifer who may not see more than a handful of innings?